Opinion By Justice LANG-MIERS.
Appellee LNA, LLC brought this action against appellants Affordable Motor Company, Inc. and Charles A. Ray to recover sums allegedly due and owing under a promissory note and guaranty agreement. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of LNA and rendered judgment against appellants for the amount of the note plus interest and attorneys' fees. Appellants raise two issues on appeal. In their first issue appellants argue that (1) the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of LNA on the Note because fact issues preclude summary judgment, and (2) the trial court erred in awarding attorneys' fees to LNA as a matter of law because the affidavit filed in support of LNA's request for attorneys' fees is inadequate and controverted. In their second issue appellants argue that the trial court erred when it implicitly overruled their objections to LNA's summary-judgment evidence. We reverse the award of attorneys' fees and affirm the trial court's final judgment in all other respects.
In January 2009, LNA filed suit against appellants to recover sums it alleged were due and owing under a two-page promissory note and guaranty agreement dated November 6, 2002 (the Note). The relevant terms of the Note state (with page break noted in brackets and hand-written interlineations, right brace, initials, and signatures noted in italics):
In its petition, LNA alleged that it is the owner of the Note and that the Note "is fully due and owing and in default." LNA sought to recover $66,500, all accrued but unpaid pre-judgment interest, reasonable attorneys' fees, and post-judgment interest. In response to the petition, appellants filed general denials "[i]n accordance with Tex.R. Civ. P. 92." In addition, Ray asserted that the statute of limitations bars LNA's claim.
In September 2009, LNA filed a motion for summary judgment along with supporting evidence including an affidavit of LNA's custodian of records attesting to the authenticity of the Note. In response, appellants amended their answers and alleged four affirmative defenses: (1) failure of a condition precedent, (2) statute of
After a hearing, and without ruling on appellants' evidentiary objections, the trial court granted LNA's motion and rendered judgment against appellants, jointly and severally, for (1) the principal sum of $66,500, (2) $37,702.88 in unpaid pre-judgment interest, (3) post-judgment interest on the total sum of $104,202.88 at the rate of 18% per annum pursuant to the Note, (4) $1,800 in attorneys' fees through trial, and (5) $9,000 in conditional appellate attorneys' fees. Appellants filed a motion for reconsideration, which the trial court denied after a hearing.
When a plaintiff moves for traditional summary judgment it has the burden to conclusively establish all elements of its claim as a matter of law. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 166a(c); MMP, Ltd. v. Jones, 710 S.W.2d 59, 60 (Tex.1986) (per curiam). A matter is conclusively established if ordinary minds cannot differ as to the conclusion to be drawn from the evidence. See Triton Oil & Gas Corp. v. Marine Contractors & Supply, Inc., 644 S.W.2d 443, 446 (Tex.1982). If the plaintiff satisfies its burden, the burden shifts to the defendant to preclude summary judgment by presenting evidence that raises a genuine issue of material fact. Westland Oil Dev. Corp. v. Gulf Oil Corp., 637 S.W.2d 903, 907 (Tex.1982). If the defendant relies on an affirmative defense to defeat summary judgment, it must come forward with evidence sufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact on each element of the defense. Sani v. Powell, 153 S.W.3d 736, 740 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2005, pet. denied). We review a trial court's decision to grant summary judgment de novo. Natividad v. Alexsis, Inc., 875 S.W.2d 695, 699 (Tex. 1994). When determining whether a disputed issue of material fact exists that would preclude summary judgment, we regard all evidence favorable to the nonmovant as true, and we indulge every reasonable inference and resolve any doubts in favor of the nonmovant. Walters v. Cleveland Reg'l Med. Center, 307 S.W.3d 292, 296 (Tex.2010).
Appellants raise two issues on appeal. In their first issue appellants argue that (1) the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of LNA on the Note because fact issues preclude summary judgment, and (2) the trial court erred in awarding attorneys' fees to LNA as a matter of law because the affidavit filed in support of LNA's request for attorneys' fees is inadequate and controverted. In their second issue appellants argue that the trial court erred when it implicitly overruled their objections to LNA's summary-judgment evidence.
We address appellants' second issue first. In their second issue appellants state that they "made several objections" to LNA's summary-judgment evidence. They cite generally to their summary-judgment response included in the clerk's record, in which they listed multiple hearsay and other objections to at least 13 separate statements in the authenticating affidavit. Next, appellants state that the trial court implicitly overruled their objections when it granted summary judgment in favor of LNA and when it denied appellants' motion for reconsideration. Finally, appellants conclude the argument in their second issue as follows:
Appellants do not provide any analysis concerning any of their objections, nor do they cite any rule of evidence or other authority that applies to their objections. As a result, appellants' second issue is inadequately briefed and presents nothing for review. See TEX.R.APP. P. 38.1(i); Cooper v. Cochran, 288 S.W.3d 522, 530-31 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2009, no pet.) (concluding appellant's issue on appeal "presents nothing for us to review" because appellant "cites no authority and offers no substantive analysis to support his argument"). We resolve appellants' second issue against them.
In their first issue appellants argue that LNA did not satisfy its burden under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 166a(c) and that fact issues preclude summary judgment in favor of LNA on the Note. We address those arguments separately.
First, and without citing to the record, appellant's argue on appeal that LNA did not satisfy its burden on summary judgment because "[a]n analysis of the note indicates that neither AMC nor the guarantor, Charles Ray, agreed to the hand-written changes initialed by Mike Beene on behalf of LNA." We do not agree.
To prevail on its motion for summary judgment to enforce the promissory note, LNA was required to prove that (1) the note exists, (2) LNA is the legal owner and holder of the note, (3) Affordable Motor is the maker of the note, and (4) a certain balance is due and owing on the note. Levitin v. Michael Group, L.L.C., 277 S.W.3d 121, 123 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2009, no pet.).
We conclude that LNA established the four elements as a matter of law. The first element was satisfied because LNA attached a photocopy of the Note to the summary-judgment motion, along with the affidavit of Mike Beene, LNA's president and custodian of records, in which he attests to the authenticity of the Note. See Wheeler v. Sec. State Bank, N.A., 159 S.W.3d 754, 757 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2005, no pet.) ("A photocopy of a promissory note, attached to an affidavit in which the affiant swears that the photocopy is a true and correct copy of the original note, is proper summary judgment proof which establishes the existence of the note."). The second element was satisfied because the Note identifies LNA as the payee and states that it is not assignable. The third element was satisfied because the Note states that Affordable Motor is the maker. The fourth element was satisfied because the Beene affidavit states that a certain balance is due an owing on the note:
With respect to appellants' burden to raise a fact issue, appellants argue that "there is a question of fact as to whether the parties assented to the terms of payment of the promissory note." But Appellants did not file a verified denial below in accordance with Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 93(7) denying the execution of the Note. As a result, appellants did not raise a fact issue in the trial court concerning the terms of payment of the Note. See TEX.R. CIV. P. 93(7) (in the absence of a verified plea denying the execution of any instrument in writing "the instrument shall be received into evidence as fully proved"); see also Rockwall Commons Assocs., Ltd. v. MRC Mortg. Grantor Trust I, 331 S.W.3d 500, 506-07 (Tex.App.-El Paso 2010, no pet.) (because appellants failed to file verified denials as to written instruments they conclusively admitted validity of instruments and waived evidentiary objections).
Next, appellants argue on appeal that "a condition precedent—giving notice expressly required by the [Note]—has failed." We disagree. The Note matured on February 1, 2003, when the final payment was due. The Note also allowed LNA to accelerate payment of the remaining balance of the Note prior to the maturity date if any payments were missed. In this case, LNA did not accelerate the Note. Instead, after the Note matured it sued for the balance due under the terms of the Note. And under the terms of the Note, notice of default was not required when payment was due after the Note matured. See, e.g., CA Partners v. Spears, 274 S.W.3d 51, 65 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied) ("Once the maturity date of the last installment has passed, the holder may not `accelerate' the note. Rather, the holder's cause of action accrues—and therefore limitations begins to run—on the maturity date of the final installment."). On appeal, appellants rely solely on World Help v. Leisure Lifestyles, Inc., 977 S.W.2d 662 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 1998, pet. denied), to support their argument that the failure to give notice of default precludes summary judgment. But World Help was not a suit to recover sums due under a promissory note after maturity. We conclude that notice of default was not required in this case and that appellants did not raise a fact issue on the failure of a condition precedent.
Appellants also argue on appeal that "if the [Note] is determined to be due on demand, then it is uncontroverted in the record that the limitations period expired on November 6, 2008, approximately two (2) months prior to the date that suit was actually filed by LNA." Appellants did not argue below, however, that the statute of limitations barred LNA's claim because the Note was a demand note and the statute of limitations expired on November 6, 2008. Instead, they argued that "due to the lack of assent as to the payment terms and the failure to provide notice of default, the statute of limitations bars [LNA's]
In summary, we resolve this portion of appellants' first issue against them.
In their first issue appellants also challenge the award of attorneys' fees to LNA. Appellants argue that it was improper to award attorneys' fees as a matter of law because appellants raised a fact issue by submitting a controverting affidavit from their attorney. We agree with appellants.
To support its request for attorneys' fees LNA submitted the affidavit of its attorney in which she opined that (1) $3,500 would be a reasonable fee through the summary judgment phase of the case, and (2) if the case is appealed, $10,000 would be a reasonable fee for an appeal to the court of appeals and $15,000 would be a reasonable fee for an appeal to the supreme court. In response, appellants submitted an affidavit from their attorney in which she opined that the fees sought by LNA were excessive and that attorneys' fees through summary judgment should be no more than $1,800, and conditional appellate fees should be no more than $4,000 and $5,000, respectively. Because appellants raised material fact issues regarding LNA's attorneys' fees, the trial court erred when it awarded attorneys' fees to LNA as a matter of law.
We reverse the award of attorneys' fees and remand this cause to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We affirm the trial court's final judgment in all other respects.